The Arctic Cat brand name has existed since the early '60's
and is among the most widely recognized and respected names in the snowmobile industry.
They sell tons of snowmobiles and have been a consistent leader in technological
innovation. Point in fact--snowmobiles have been AC's bread and butter for more than 30
years. But something strange is happening that even has the Arctic Cat executives taking
notice. Corporate planners expect ATV sales to equal snowmobile sales in five
years. Not bad for a company that launched it's first ATV only five years ago.
The Arctic Cat BearCat 454 4x4 was AC's maiden flagship,
introducing it to the public in late 1995. Since then, ATV sales have reached nearly 20
percent of Arctic Cat revenues. After the BearCat's introduction, they continued to expand
its product line with new model introductions and enhancements. Advertisements touted
"best-in-class" features offering unmatched comfort, suspension and ground
clearance. Compare, compare, compare is the marketing theme strategy. Apparently it's
working as overall market share has been steadily increasing. Since it's introduction,
Arctic Cat has dropped the BearCat name and simply uses the engine size for machine
identity.

Engine / Powertrain

Even after repeated trips through this mudhole,
the airbox stayed dry.

Last summer we reviewed Yamaha's Grizzly--inadvertently pronouncing it "King of
the torque monsters." Yikes--was that a mistake! I received e-mails for months from
irate Arctic Cat owners saying their machines offered more torque. With a larger and
longer bore x stroke and a 6mm larger carburetor, I couldn't imagine the 595cc Grizzly
engine losing out in a torque contest to the 493cc engine on the Arctic Cat. Well,
apparently it does. After conferring with the engineers at Arctic Cat, they are sticking
by their guns that the 499cc engine in the AC quad offers more torque (but less
horsepower) than the Grizzly's 600. They could be right. I knew while testing both
machines that the torque numbers would be very close, and indeed they are. The AC 500
offers roughly 31 ft/lbs and the Grizzly roughly 29 ft/lbs. Whether either machine can put
all that torque to the ground is another story. While the numbers confer bragging rights,
in all reality, most normal trail riders won't notice much of a difference between
machines. Both of these machines are sooooo powerful, you lose traction long
before you lose power. But we offer the torque numbers as commentary for the status symbol
that ATV owners place on their quads' power.

Climbing
mountains with the AC is a real joy.

The culprit behind all this torque is a 493cc 4-stroke,
single-cylinder, liquid cooled, SOHC developed by Suzuki back in 1998. Some of the
engine's components are taken directly from high-tech motorcycle engines. For instance,
the aluminum cylinder has been plated with silicon carbide providing a better ring seal
and heat dissipation than a heavy iron liner. An oil jet cools the underside of the
piston, providing a longer lifespan. Unlike motorcycle engines however, this motor has
been tuned to produce high torque at low RPM. The abundant torque overshadows virtually
anything else on the machine. Throttle response is outstanding. It pulls hard from every
gear and is what we refer to in the business as having snot to it. The quads'
speedometer read 58 MPH as top speed, but in all reality, you won't be approaching
anywhere near this speed on the trails. At that speed the engine was so torqued out we
thought it might explode.

Pennsylvania has received three times the normal
rainfall this summer. Water testing is not a problem.

Engine vibration is non-existent and exhaust tip noise level is low. The motor
transfers its fortified power to the shaft-driven wheels through a 5-speed transmission
with an automatic clutch and reverse gear. An additional low-range sub-transmission
creates a total of ten forward gear combinations. The AC 500 uses a close ratio
gearbox, which explains why it was possible to start out in third gear without straining
the motor. In some cases, we were even able to start out in fifth! This should be a great
benefit to those who wish to run taller heavy mud tires in extreme conditions. Because of
the close gear ratios we found the display panel gear position indicator lamps quite
helpful. Low-maintenance features on the AC 500 include suspension bushings; sealed drive
shafts, front and rear; constant-velocity (CV) joints; and a sealed transmission case. New
for the 2001 model are stick-stoppers on the front CV joints.

Feeding the engine is a Keihin CV 34mm
carburetor. For '01, the AC 500 uses a 4.75-gallon gas tank with fuel gauge. That's a
half-gallon larger than last year, and fill-ups should be easier thanks to a large
diameter filler neck The reserve tank selector dial switch has been relocated for easier
access.
For ease of maintenance, an easy to reach spin-on
automotive-style oil filter is attached on the engine's right side. A start-in-gear
feature eliminates the need to shift into neutral when starting the engine. The 2001 model
has a decal conveniently placed with directions of the "start-in-gear" feature.
A push/pull lever mounted on the left mudflap near your knee offers selectable 2WD/4WD.
This feature allows you to shift the transmission into 2WD to reduce steering effort or
into 4WD for maximum traction.

The AC would bog down in the deep stuff--almost coming
to a stop, until both front tires started churning. This photo caught the instant
after both front tires engaged. It dug itself right through.

There's a short sentence on page 11 of the 2001 Arctic Cat ATV
Brochure that reads: "Automatic torque-sensing front differential for true
four-wheel-drive." After closely looking over the front differential, it appeared
to be an ordinary limited-slip that offers three-wheel drive. But we gave them the benefit
of the doubt and decided on running the quad through our worst mudhole anyway. (Editor's
Note: "It's a damn shame when we have to prove what we think!")
We were amazed at what we discovered. Here's how the front
differential works. On typical hard pack riding and rock climbing, the front end will
never kick into true four-wheel-drive. It's necessary for one of the front tires to spin
freely for a couple seconds in order for power to be transferred to the other front tire,
thus making for true four-wheel-drive. When mud and/or water allow one of the front tires
to break traction and start spinning easily, the front end will lock after a few seconds
of spinning. When kicking in, the locking front end can be felt and heard.
There's a slight click in the front differential and the machine will lurch forward with
new found traction. We breezed through the testing mudhole. No problem whatsoever--and
this mudbog is no easy feat.

Only three stock quads have made it through this
mudhole. The Traxter, a Polaris Magnum, and now the Arctic Cat 500. Machines that have failed include
the Grizzly, 450ES, Wolverine and QuadRunner 500. The Arctic Cat and Traxter made
it through with the most authority.